Architecture for signal and power distribution in wireless data network

ABSTRACT

An architecture is provided for coupling wireless local area network (WLAN) signals between an internetworking device and a remotely located access point using a transport network. The access point is coupled to the transport network for communicating with the internetworking device. The access point includes a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point and an access point remote converter. The WLAN access point receives wireless local area network signals from wireless computing equipment and converts such signals to local area network compatible signals. The access point remote converter receives the local area network compatible signals from the WLAN access point and converts the signals to transport modulated format signals suitable for transmission over the transport network. The transport network also provides a power signal to power at least some components of the access point.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/806,032, filed Mar. 22, 2004, and U.S. application Ser. No.10/869,468, filed Jun. 16, 2004, both of which are continuation-in-partsof U.S. application Ser. No. 10/606,655, filed Jun. 26, 2003, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,359,392, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/332,518, filed Jun. 14, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,479,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/130,445, filed Apr. 21, 1999. The entire teachings of the aboveapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to wireless local area networksystems and more particularly to a distribution network for couplingwireless local area network signals between centrally locatedinternetworking devices and remotely located access points.

The most common user applications for personal computers now require aconnection to a computer network of some type. Such applications includethe viewing of e-mail, sharing of data files, and accessing the Internetand the World Wide Web. Various techniques are used for connectingcomputers together so that they may send data to and receive data fromeach other, more or less in real time. Most often this so-calledphysical layer is implemented using wires and the bits of data to beexchanged are converted into electrical signals that move through thewires. Traditionally, local area networks (LANs) were implemented usingprivately installed wiring, such as coaxial cable or twisted pair typecable and network adapter circuits. Later, it became possible toconstruct LANs through the use of the public switched telephone networkand modem equipment.

However, networks that use infrared light or radio frequency energy atthe physical layer are growing in popularity. These so-called wirelesslocal area networks (“wireless LANs”) convert the bits of data intoradio waves to enable their transmission over the air, which in turnminimizes the need for hard wired connections.

Wireless LANs have tended to find application where user mobility andportability is important, such as in the healthcare, retail,manufacturing, and warehousing industries. This limited use has no doubtbeen the result of the added cost of the required wireless networkadapters. However, they are also becoming more widely recognized as ageneral purpose alternative for a broad range of business applicationsas the cost of mobile computing equipment such as laptop computers andpersonal digital assistants (PDAs) continues to decrease. With awireless LAN, users can access shared information without first stoppingto find a place to plug-in their equipment. In addition, networkmanagers can set up or augment such networks without installing ormoving wires around from place to place.

The simplest wireless LAN configuration is an independent type networkthat connects a set of computers with wireless adapters. Anytime any twoor more of the wireless adapters are within radio range of one another,they can set up a network. More common is a type of multi-user LANwherein multiple devices referred to as access points collect signals ata central location. The access points collect signals transmitted frompersonal computers equipped with wireless network adapters, anddistribute them over wire physical media to other internetworkingdevices such as repeaters (hubs), bridges, routers, and gateways, toprovide interconnectivity to larger networks.

The range of a wireless LAN is limited by how far the signals can travelover the air between the access points and the network adaptersconnected to the PCs. Currently, the Institute of Electrical andElectronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless LAN standard, which is themost widely used, specifies power output levels which carry signals overa few hundred feet.

To extend coverage beyond this limited range, a network of access pointswith overlapping radio ranges must be located throughout the desiredcoverage area. These so-called infrastructure wireless LANs areimplemented in a manner which is similar to a cellular telephone system.At any given time, a mobile personal computer equipped with a wirelessLAN adapter communicates with a single access point within the currentmicrocell within which it is located. On the landline side, the accesspoints are interconnected using network-compatible twisted pair wiringsuch as that which is compliant with the Ethernet/802.3 10 baseT or 100baseT standard. The network signals can then be further forwarded to alocal- or wide-area network using standard internetworking protocols anddevices.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a simple and low cost architecture forcoupling wireless local area network (“wireless LAN”) signals betweengeographically distributed access points and centrally locatedinternetworking devices. The invention eliminates complexities involvedwith the deployment of such systems in the past, which have typicallyrequired the computer network-compatible wiring to be extended to eachaccess point directly from an internetworking device such as a repeater,bridge, router, or gateway.

The present invention makes it economically efficient to deploy wirelesslocal area networking equipment in locations where wired networkinfrastructure is not readily available. In particular, any convenientexisting physical wiring, such as may be provided by the existingcoaxial cable used to distribute cable television signals, or theexisting twisted pair cabling used to distribute standard telephonesignals, is used as a physical layer transport medium to carry thewireless local area network signals between the access points andcentrally located network hub equipment.

According to the invention, an architecture is provided that coupleswireless local area network (WLAN) signals between an internetworkingdevice and a remotely located access point using a transport network.The access point is coupled to the transport network for communicatingwith the internetworking device. The access point includes a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) access point and an access point remoteconverter. The WLAN access point receives wireless local area networksignals from wireless computing equipment and converts such signals tolocal area network compatible signals. The access point remote converterreceives the local area network compatible signals from the WLAN accesspoint and converts the signals to transport modulated format signalssuitable for transmission over the transport network. The transportnetwork also provides a power signal to power at least some componentsof the access point.

The transport network can be implemented as an analog signal transportmedium. In one particular embodiment, the transport network is a twistedpair telephone cabling and the access point remote converter convertsthe local area network signals to a Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL)format. The access point further includes a power supply connected to beenergized by the power signal from the transport network to supply powerto at least some components of the access point.

In another particular embodiment, the transport network is an opticalfiber network and the access point remote converter converts the localarea network signals to an optical wavelength compatible with the fibernetwork. The access point further includes a power supply connected tobe energized by the power signal from the optical fiber network tosupply power to at least some components of the access point.

A power inserter can be used for inserting the power signal onto thetransport network and a signal coupler can also be used to couple thepower signal from the transport network to the access point.

A head end access point that includes a head end remote bridge can beconnected to receive the transport modulated format signals from thetransport network and to convert such signals to data network compatiblesignals. A local area network hub can then be used to receive the datanetwork compatible signals from the head end remote bridge and toforward such signals to the internetworking device.

In further particular embodiments, an access point is associated witheach wireless local area network microcell. The access point includesaccess point equipment for communicating with portable computingequipment located within the microcell, such as may be provided inaccordance with standard wireless network specifications such as theInstitute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wirelessLAN standard.

Rather than couple the wire line side of the access point directlythrough local area network format cabling such as 10 baseT or 100 baseT,an access point remote converter first converts such signals to aconvenient transport format. The transport format implemented by theremote converter depends upon the available cabling.

The available transport cabling can also provide a power signal to powerat least some portions of the access point.

The transport signals are collected at a central distribution or headendaccess point (HAP). At this location, a remote bridge then converts thesignals from the convenient transport format back to the wired localarea network format such as Ethernet/802.3 10 baseT or 100 baseT. TheseEthernet signals are then suitable for coupling to a local area networkhub, or other internetworking equipment such as repeaters, bridges,routers, gateways and the like.

As a result, it is not necessary to deploy Ethernet-compatible or otherdata network cabling directly to the physical location of each accesspoint within the desired coverage area. Rather, the access points may bedeployed in configurations wherever there is available transportcabling, without consideration for the cost and/or logistics ofdeploying local area network compatible cabling.

DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for providing wireless local areanetwork access using transport cabling according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of a cable access point and headend access point making use of a cable television transport media.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a cable access point and head end accesspoint making use of a cable transport with IEEE 802.14 cable modemcompatible interconnects.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a cable access point and head end accesspoint using a twisted pair transport media.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed block diagram of the typical equipmentdeployed at the head end.

FIG. 6 is a more detailed diagram of the head end access point makinguse of a wireless local area network bridge and translation stage.

FIG. 7 is a more detailed block diagram of an alternative implementationof the cable access point.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning attention now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a generalized diagramof a wireless data network 10 configured according to the invention. Thewireless data network 10 makes use of multiple remotely located wirelesslocal area network (LAN) access point locations to provide wireless LANinterconnectivity over a broad coverage area. The wireless data network10 uses widely available, already installed cabling such as a coaxialcable, optical fiber, or twisted pair as a transport medium. Thisarchitecture provides an inexpensive way to deploy wireless LAN coveragefrom a centralized internetworking device without the need to distributeLAN compatible cabling to each access point location in a geographicregion 11.

More specifically, the wireless data network 10 consists of a number ofmicrocells 12-1, 12-2, . . . , 12-4 distributed throughout a geographicregion. Some of the microcells 12 may be located adjacent to othermicrocells and located in areas of particularly high population density,such as in an office park. Other microcells 12 may be located inresidential and/or rural areas, such as microcell 12-4, and may have noadjacent microcells 12.

The present invention allows the implementation of wireless data network10 in areas where data network wired backbone infrastructure is notreadily available. For example, in the residential or rural area 12-4,such data network infrastructure is not available. Likewise, theinvention can be advantageously deployed even in areas such as theoffice park in microcell 12-3 where such backbone connections mayalready be available. In this case, the invention provides a way todistribute access points throughout a wide geographic region 11 withoutthe need to provide network connectivity to each access point, such asthrough leased data lines or other transport media requiring expensivemonthly rental payments.

Each microcell 12 has associated with it a corresponding cable accesspoint (CAP) 14-1, 14-2, . . . , 14-4. The cable access points 14 areconnected to one another either serially or in parallel via an intercelltransport medium 15. It will be understood shortly the transport medium15 is advantageously selected to be an existing wiring located in theregion 11. For example, the transport medium 15 is selected to be acable television (CATV) cable plant, or twisted pair cabling used toprovide plain old telephone service (POTS).

Heretofore, it has been required to provide a high speed, wiredconnection such as an Ethernet/802.3 10 baseT or 100 baseT compatibleconnection to each of the microcells 12-1 in order to carry wirelesslocal area network signals from the access points 14 back to aninternetworking device such as a LAN repeater or hub 18. However, theinvention uses especially adapted cable access points 14 and head endaccess points (HAPs) 16 in order to transport the wireless local areanetwork signals over the available transport media 15.

The head end access point (HAP) 16 couples the LAN signals between theavailable transport medium 15 and internetworking equipment such as aLAN repeater or hub 18. From the LAN hub 18, the signals may then be fedthrough LAN switches 20 to wired LANs 22, through routers 22 tocorporate networks 26 or public backbone Internet connections 28, or toother internetworking equipment.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed diagram of a CAP 14-1 and HAP 16-1 that makeuse of existing CATV plant transport medium 15-1. The CAP 14-1 includesan access point 34-1, a remote bridge 36-1, a radio frequency (RF)translator 38-1, power extractor 40-1 and power supply 42-1. Althoughonly a single CAP 14-1 is shown connected to the CATV plant 15-1, itshould be understood that other CAPs 14 are similarly connected to theHAP 16-1.

The CAP 14-1 receives wireless LAN signals from computing equipment 17-1and 17-2 located within its respective microcell 12-1. For example,mobile computing equipment 17-1 such as a laptop computer or personaldigital assistant (PDA) may be fitted with a wireless LAN adapter 30-1which transmits and receives wireless LAN signals 32-1 to and from awireless LAN access point 34-1. It should be understood that in additionto the portable type computing equipment 17-1, there may also be desktopcomputers 17-2 located within the microcell 12, equipped with wirelessLAN adapters 30-2.

The following discussion considers the path of a reverse link directionsignal that is traveling from the computer 17 towards the LAN hub 18.However, it should be understood that communication paths in a networkare full duplex and therefore must travel in both directions; theanalogous inverse operations are therefore carried out in the forwardlink direction.

The radio signals transmitted by the wireless LAN adapter 30-1 and thewireless access point 34-1 are preferably in accordance with the knownstandardized signaling format such as the Institute of Electrical andElectronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless LAN standard. The accesspoint 34-1 and wireless LAN adapter 30-1 are therefore available asinexpensive, off-the-shelf items.

The network side port of the access point 34-1 is, in the preferredembodiment, most commonly provided as a standardized Ethernet typesignal compatible with 10 baseT or 100 baseT standard signaling. Theremote bridge 36-1 thus converts the Ethernet signals provided by theaccess point 34-1 to a format suitable for connecting such signals overlong distances, depending upon the available transport medium 15.

In the case of the illustrated CATV plant 15-1, the bridge 36-1modulates such signals to a standard line signaling formats such as T1carrier format. However, rather than bring the T1 compatibletelecommunication line signaling directly to the location of the CAP14-1 in the microcell 12, the T1 formatted signal is instead provided toa translator 38-1. The translator 38-1 up-converts the T1 signal to anappropriate intermediate frequency (IF) carrier for coupling over theCATV plant 15-1. For example, the 1.5 MHz bandwidth T1 signal may, inthe reverse link direction, be upbanded to a carrier in the range offrom 5-40 MHz. In the forward link direction, that is, signals beingcarried from the central LAN hub 18 towards the computers 17, thetranslator 38-1 receives signals on the intermediate frequency carrierin a range from 50-750 MHz and translates them down to a baseband T1signaling format.

The power inserter 45 may be located at any point in the CATV plant15-1, and inserts a suitable low frequency alternating current (AC)power signal. This signal energizes the power extractor 40-1 and powersupply 42-1 to generate a direct current supply signal for the CAPs 14.A signal coupler 43 couples this AC power signal and the intermediatefrequency signal energy from the translator 38-1 to the CATV plant 15-1,and vice versa.

The head end access point (HAP) 16-1 contains a power supply 48-1,translator 44-1, and remote bridge 46-1. The translator 44-1 providesthe inverse function of the translator 38-1. That is, in the reverselink direction, it converts the T1 formatted signals from theintermediate frequency carrier in a range of from 5-40 MHz back down tothe baseband T1 format.

In the forward link direction, the translator 44-1 accepts signalsconverted from the LAN hub 18 through the bridge 46-1, upbanding themonto a convenient carrier such as in the range of from 50-750 MHz forcoupling over the CATV plant 15-1.

For more information concerning the details of a suitable translator38-1 and 44-1, reference can be had to a co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/998,874 filed Dec. 24, 1997 entitled “RemotelyControlled Gain Control of Transceiver Used to Interconnect WirelessTelephones to a Broadband Network.”

The remote bridge 46-1 then reconverts the translated reverse linksignals back to Ethernet compatible signals, such as 10 baseT or 100baseT signals which may then be processed by the LAN hub 18 or othercompatible internetworking devices.

It should be understood that the CATV plant 15-1 may be replaced byother types of broadband distribution networks which may be convenientlyavailable within the area 11. The one consideration which cannot bealtered is that the end-to-end propagation delays of the remoting mediummust be considered to comply with the end-to-end delay criteriaspecified by the Ethernet/802.3 standard. For example, optical transportmedia may also be used in the place of the coaxial cable used for theCATV plant 15-1, such as described in a co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/256,244 filed Feb. 23, 1999 entitled “OpticalSimulcast Network with Centralized Call Processing.”

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the CAP 14 and HAP 16using cable modem equipment. In this embodiment, a cable modem 37-1replaces the bridge 36-1 and translator 38-1. The cable modem 37-1 maybe IEEE 802.14, Multimedia Cable Network System (MCNS), or Data OverCable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) compatible. The netresult is the same in that the Ethernet signals used for communicationwith the access point 34-1 are converted to cable signals in the 5-750MHz bandwidth.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the CAP 14-2 and HAP16-2 which use twisted pair type transport medium 15-2. As before, awireless LAN compatible access point 34-2 provides Ethernet/802.3compatible signals to a remote bridge 36-2. In this instance, the remotebridge 36-2 provides a high speed digital output signal compatible withdigital subscriber line (xDSL) signaling technology. Such xDSLtechnology uses sophisticated modulation schemes to pack data ontostandard copper twisted pair wires.

Likewise, the bridge 46-2 disposed within the HAP 16-2 is compatible forconverting xDSL signaling to Ethernet/802.3 signaling. The embodiment ofFIG. 4 may typically be more advisable to use in areas 11 having readilyavailable twisted pair copper wires such as used for carrying standardtelephone signaling, and wherein such signaling requires only a shortrun to a local central telephone office of 20,000 feet shorter distancecompatible with xDSL specifications.

The understanding therefore is that the bridge 36-1 or 36-2 and 46-1 or46-2 may be any suitable type of layer two (L2) bridging to theappropriate available transport media 15-1 or 15-2, be it up-convertedT1 over cable or fiber, or xDSL.

A complete implementation for a local area network 10 may thus be asshown in FIG. 5. In particular, the subscriber site 52 contains theremotely located computers 17. They exchange wireless local area networksignaling with devices located with the CAPs 14 located at the strandedplant microcell sites 54. In turn, the CAPs 14 use an analogdistribution network implemented using whatever transport medium 15 thatis readily available. The HAP 16 may itself use other analogdistribution networks converts such analog signals back to appropriateEthernet/802.3 signal formatting and forwards them to the hub 18. Thehub 18 thus provides local area network signals such as compatible withthe 10 baseT standard, to network router 58 which may provide suchsignals to other networks over whatever long distance digital signalingis appropriate, such as to other local sub-networks over Ethernet/802.310 baseT type signaling, or to other remote locations such as over framerelay trunks.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of an alternate embodiment of the HAP 16.Here, the 802.11 air interface signal is translated in frequency to CATVtransport frequencies between the HAP 16 and CAP 14. The HAP 16 consistsgenerally of a translating stage 60 and bridging stage 62. A translatingstage 60 provides an radio frequency translation function, acceptingsignals from the transport medium 15 and converting their radio band ofoperation. In this particular embodiment of the HAP 16, the bridgingstage 62 is provided by an 802.11 compatible wireless bridge. Thisdevice accepts signals from a wireless local area network at basebandand converts them to the 802.11 protocol for frequency conversion by thetranslating stage 60. In this instance then, the translating stage 60disposed between the bridging stage and the transport medium 15 convertsthe IF signaling used on the CATV transport medium 15 in the range of5-750 MHz to the signaling in the ISM band compatible with the 802.11wireless bridging stage 62.

Finally, FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of the CAP 14 that uses adirect RF translator 38-3 to interface between the CATV transport medium15 and the 802.11 format signals in the unlicensed ISM bands (e.g., 2.4GHz or 5.8 GHz). In particular, the analog distribution network signalsin the 5-750 MHz band are translated in frequency up to an ISM bandcarrier by the RF translator 38-3.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreferences to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method of communicating wireless local area network (WLAN) signalswith an internetworking device using a transport network, the methodcomprising: receiving, at a wireless local area network (WLAN) accesspoint, wireless local area network signals from wireless computingequipment and converting such signals to local area network compatiblesignals; converting the local area network compatible signals totransport modulated format signals suitable for transmission over thetransport network; and powering a component of at least one device in awireless local area network of which the WLAN access point is a partusing power received from the transport network.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising transmitting the transport modulated formatsignals to the internetworking device over the transport network.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising receiving the local area networkcompatible signals from the wireless local area network access point atan access point remote converter, wherein the access point remoteconverter converts the local area network compatible signals totransport modulated format signals suitable for transmission over thetransport network.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein powering thecomponent of at least one device in the wireless local area networkusing power received from the transport network comprises receiving apower signal from the transport network at a power supply included inthe access point remote converter.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thetransport network comprises twisted-pair cabling; and wherein convertingthe local area network compatible signals to the transport modulatedformat signals suitable for transmission over the transport networkcomprises converting the local area network compatible signals toDigital Subscriber Line (xDSL) signals.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the transport network comprises a coaxial cable network; andwherein converting the local area network compatible signals to thetransport modulated format signals suitable for transmission over thetransport network comprises converting the local area network compatiblesignals to the transport modulated format signals using a cable modem.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transport network comprises anoptical fiber network; and wherein converting the local area networkcompatible signals to the transport modulated format signals suitablefor transmission over the transport network comprises converting thelocal area network compatible signals to optical signals compatible withthe optical fiber network.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving the transport modulated format signals from the transportnetwork; converting the transport modulated format signals to datanetwork compatible signals; and providing the data network compatiblesignals to the internetworking device.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe internetworking device is located remotely from the WLAN accesspoint.
 10. An access point apparatus comprising: a wireless local areanetwork access point to produce an intermediate signal based on awireless local area network signal received from equipment within acoverage area associated with the wireless local area network accesspoint; and a modem unit to produce, based on the intermediate signalproduced by the wireless local area network access point, a transportmodulated format signal suitable for transmission over transportcabling; and a power supply adapted to receive power from the transportcabling and power at least a portion of at least one of the wirelesslocal area network access point and the modem unit.
 11. The access pointapparatus of claim 10, wherein the transport cabling comprises availabletransport cabling.
 12. The access point apparatus of claim 10, whereinthe intermediate signal comprises a local area network compatiblesignal.
 13. The access point apparatus of claim 12, wherein the wirelesslocal area network signal comprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless local areanetwork signal and the local area network compatible signal comprises anIEEE 802.3 network signal.
 14. The access point apparatus of claim 10,wherein the wireless local area network signal comprises a multi-userwireless local area network signal.
 15. The access point apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein the transport cabling comprises a portion of a cabletelevision plant and wherein the modem unit comprises a cable modem. 16.The access point apparatus of claim 10, wherein the transport cablingcomprises telephone twisted-pair cabling and wherein the modem unitcomprises a digital subscriber line modem.
 17. The access pointapparatus of claim 10, wherein the equipment comprises at least one of:computing equipment, mobile equipment, and a personal digital assistant.18. The access point apparatus of claim 10, wherein the modem unitcomprises a modem.
 19. The access point apparatus of claim 10, wherein:the modem unit produces a downstream intermediate signal based on adownstream transport modulated format signal received from the transportcabling; and the wireless local area network access point produces adownstream wireless local area network signal from the downstreamintermediate signal; and the wireless local area network access pointradiates the downstream wireless local area network signal within thecoverage area.
 20. The access point of claim 19, wherein the downstreamintermediate signal comprises a downstream local area network compatiblesignal.
 21. A method comprising: receiving a wireless local area networksignal from equipment within a coverage area of a wireless local areanetwork; producing a transport modulated format signal suitable fortransmission over transport cabling, wherein the transport modulatedformat signal is derived from the wireless local area network compatiblesignal received within the coverage area; transmitting the transportmodulated format signal on the transport cabling; receiving thetransport modulated format signal from the transport cabling; producinga third signal for transmission to a second network, wherein the thirdsignal is derived from the transport modulated format signal; andpowering at least one component of at least one device in the wirelesslocal area network using power received from the transport cabling. 22.The method of claim 21, wherein the transport cabling comprisesavailable transport cabling.
 23. The method of claim 21, furthercomprising communicating the third signal to the second network.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, wherein the third signal is communicated to thesecond network via one or more internetworking devices and wherein thethird signal is compatible with at least one of the one or moreinternetwork devices.
 25. The method of claim 21, wherein the secondnetwork comprises the Internet.
 26. The method of claim 21, whereinproducing the transport modulated format signal comprises: producing asecond local area network compatible signal based on the wireless localarea network signal; and producing the transport modulated format signalfrom the second local area network compatible signal.
 27. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the first local area network compatible signalcomprises an IEEE 802.3 network signal.
 28. The method of claim 21,further comprising: receiving a downstream transport modulated formatsignal from the transport cabling; producing a downstream wireless localarea network signal that is derived from the downstream transportmodulated signal; and radiating the downstream wireless local areanetwork signal in the coverage area.
 29. The method of claim 28, whereinproducing the downstream wireless local area network signal comprisesproducing a downstream local area network compatible signal from thedownstream transport modulated format signal and producing thedownstream wireless local area network signal from the downstream localarea network compatible signal.
 30. The method of claim 21, wherein thetransport cabling comprises at least one of: a portion of a cabletelevision plant and telephone twisted-pair cabling.
 31. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the equipment comprises at least one of: computingequipment, mobile equipment, and a personal digital assistant.
 32. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the wireless local area network signalcomprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network signal.
 33. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the wireless local area network signalcomprises a multi-user wireless local area network signal.
 34. A systemcomprising: a first access point communicatively coupled to aninternetworking device; and at least one second access pointcommunicatively coupled to the first access point via at least onetransport communication medium; wherein the second access point producesa transport modulated format signal suitable for transmission over thetransport communication medium; wherein the transport modulated formatsignal is derived from a wireless local area network signal receivedfrom equipment within a coverage area associated with the second accesspoint; and wherein at least one component associated with the secondaccess point is powered by power received from the transportcommunication medium.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the at leastone transport communication medium comprises at least one availabletransport communication medium.
 36. The system of claim 34, wherein thesecond access point produces the transport modulated format signal byproducing a local area network compatible signal based on the wirelesslocal area network signal and producing the transport modulated formatsignal from the local area network compatible signal.
 37. The system ofclaim 36, wherein the local area network compatible signal comprises anIEEE 802.3 network signal.
 38. The system of claim 36, wherein thesecond access point comprises: a wireless local area network unit toproduce the local area network compatible signal based on the wirelesslocal area network signal; and a modem unit to produce the transportmodulated format signal and transmit the transport modulated signal onthe transport communication medium.
 39. The system of claim 38, whereinthe modem unit comprises a modem.
 40. The system of claim 34, whereinthe internetworking device comprises at least one of a repeater, a hub,a bridge, a router, and a gateway.
 41. The system of claim 34, whereinthe wireless local area network signal comprises an IEEE 802.11 wirelesslocal area network signal.
 42. The system of claim 34, wherein the firstaccess point transmits a downstream transport modulated format signal onthe transport communication medium; and wherein the second access pointproduces, from the downstream transport modulated format signal, adownstream wireless local area network signal to be radiated in thecoverage area.
 43. The system of claim 42, wherein the second accesspoint produces the downstream wireless local area network signal fromthe downstream transport modulated format signal by producing adownstream local area network compatible signal from the downstreamtransport modulated format signal and producing the downstream wirelesslocal area network signal from the downstream local area networkcompatible signal.
 44. The system of claim 34, wherein the transportcommunication medium comprises at least one of: a portion of a cabletelevision plant and telephone twisted-pair cabling.
 45. The system ofclaim 34, wherein the equipment comprises at least one of: computingequipment, mobile equipment, and a personal digital assistant.
 46. Asystem comprising: an internetworking device operable to send andreceive data in accordance with a first protocol; a wireless local areanetwork device operable to send and receive the data in accordance withthe first protocol and to wirelessly send and receive wireless localarea network data; a first unit that is communicatively coupled to theinternetworking device; and a second unit that is communicativelycoupled to the first unit via transport cabling; wherein data is sent bythe internetworking device in accordance with the first protocol and iscommunicated to the wireless local area networking device via the firstunit and the second unit over the transport cabling using a secondprotocol compatible with the transport cabling; and wherein a componentassociated with at least one of the wireless local area network deviceand the second unit is powered by power received from the transportcabling.
 47. The system of claim 46, wherein the transport cablingcomprises available transport cabling.
 48. The system of claim 46,wherein data is sent by the wireless local area networking device inaccordance with the first protocol and is communicated to theinternetworking device, at least in part, by communicating said datafrom the second unit to the first unit over the transport cabling usingthe second protocol.
 49. The system of claim 46, wherein the firstprotocol comprises a local area network protocol.
 50. The system ofclaim 46, wherein the first protocol comprises an IEEE 802.3 protocol.51. The system of claim 46, wherein the second protocol comprises atleast one of a cable modem protocol and a digital subscriber lineprotocol.
 52. The system of claim 46, wherein the internetworking devicecomprises at least one of a repeater, a hub, a bridge, a router, and agateway.
 53. A method comprising: receiving first data sent from aninternetworking device in accordance with a first wired protocol;sending, over an available wired communication medium in accordance witha second wired protocol suitable for use on the available wiredcommunication medium, at least a portion of the first data received fromthe internetworking device; and receiving, from the available wiredcommunication medium, the at least a portion of the first data sent overthe available wired communication medium and providing at least aportion of the first data received from the available wiredcommunication medium to a wireless local area network access point forradiating at least a portion thereof from the wireless local areanetwork access point; and powering at least a portion of the wirelesslocal area network access point using power received from the availablewired communication medium.
 54. The method of claim 53, wherein the atleast a portion of the first data received from the available wiredcommunication medium is provided to the wireless local area networkaccess point in accordance with the first wired protocol.
 55. The methodof claim 53, further comprising: receiving second data at the wirelesslocal area network access point in accordance with a wireless local areanetwork protocol; sending, from the wireless local area network accesspoint in accordance with the first wired protocol, at least a portion ofthe second data received at the wireless local area network accesspoint; receiving at least a portion of the second data sent from thewireless local area network access point in accordance with the firstwired protocol; sending, over the available wired communication mediumin accordance with the second wired protocol, at least a portion of thesecond data received from the wireless local area network access point;and receiving, from the available wired communication medium, the atleast a portion of the second data sent over the available wiredcommunication medium and providing, to the internetworking device, atleast a portion of the second data received from the available wiredcommunication medium.
 56. The method of claim 55, wherein the at least aportion of the second data received from the available wiredcommunication medium is provided to the internetworking device inaccordance with first wired protocol.
 57. A method comprising: receivingfirst data at a wireless local area network access point in accordancewith a wireless local area network protocol; sending, from the wirelesslocal area network access point in accordance with a first wiredprotocol, at least a portion of the first data received at the wirelesslocal area network access point; receiving at least a portion of thefirst data sent from the wireless local area network access point inaccordance with the first wired protocol; sending, over an availablewired communication medium in accordance with a second wired protocolsuitable for use on the available wired communication medium, at least aportion of the first data received from the wireless local area networkaccess point; receiving, from the available wired communication medium,the at least a portion of the first data sent over the available wiredcommunication medium and providing, to an internetworking device, atleast a portion of the first data received from the available wiredcommunication medium; and powering at least a portion of the wirelesslocal area network access point using power received from the availablewired communication medium.
 58. The method of claim 57, furthercomprising: receiving second data sent from the internetworking devicein accordance with the first wired protocol; sending, over the availablewired communication medium in accordance with the second wired protocol,at least a portion of the second data received from the internetworkingdevice; and receiving, from the available wired communication medium,the at least a portion of the second data sent over the available wiredcommunication medium and providing at least a portion of the second datareceived from the available wired communication medium to the wirelesslocal area network access point for radiating at least a portion thereoffrom the wireless local area network access point.
 59. A systemcomprising: a wireless access point operable to communicate wirelesslywith a plurality of wireless devices; and an internetworking device;wherein available transport cabling is used to communicatively couplethe wireless access point to the internetworking device; and wherein thewireless access point outputs a first signal compatible with a physicallayer protocol other than a transport physical layer protocol suitablefor use on the available transport cabling; wherein a second signal thatis compatible with the transport physical layer protocol is producedfrom the first signal; wherein the second signal is communicated overthe available transport cabling to the internetworking device; whereinthe internetworking device receives a third signal having a physicallayer protocol other than the transport physical layer protocol; whereinthe second signal is received from the available transport cabling andused to produce the third signal; and wherein at least a portion of thewireless access point is powered from power received from the availabletransport cabling.
 60. The system of claim 59, wherein theinternetworking device outputs a fourth signal compatible with aphysical layer protocol other than the transport physical layerprotocol; wherein the fourth signal is used to produce to a fifth signalthat is compatible with the transport physical layer protocol; whereinthe fifth signal is communicated over the available transport cabling tothe wireless access point; wherein the wireless access point receives asixth signal that is compatible with a protocol other than the transportphysical layer protocol; wherein the fifth signal is received from theavailable transport cabling and used to produce the sixth signal; andwherein the sixth signal is provided to the wireless access point. 61.An access point system comprising: a wireless access point to send andreceive wireless local area network signals within a coverage area; anda digital subscriber line modem communicatively coupled to the wirelessaccess point; wherein the digital subscriber line modem is operable tocommunicatively couple the wireless access point to a public Internetvia a digital subscriber communication link; and wherein at least one ofthe wireless access point and the digital subscriber line modem ispowered at least in part from power received from the digital subscribercommunication link.
 62. An access point system comprising: a wirelessaccess point to send and receive wireless local area network signalswithin a coverage area; and a digital subscriber line modemcommunicatively coupled to the wireless access point; wherein thedigital subscriber line modem is operable to communicatively couple thewireless access point to an internetworking device via a digitalsubscriber communication link; and wherein at least one of the wirelessaccess point and the digital subscriber line modem is powered at leastin part from power received from the digital subscriber communicationlink.
 63. The access point system of claim 62, wherein theinternetworking device is located outside of the coverage area.
 64. Theaccess point system of claim 62, wherein the wireless access point iscommunicatively coupled to the digital subscriber line modem via a wiredlocal area network communication link.
 65. The access point system ofclaim 64, wherein the wired local area network communication linkcomprises an IEEE 802.3 link.
 66. The access point system of claim 62,wherein the internetworking device comprises at least one of: arepeater, a hub, a bridge, a router, and a gateway.
 67. The access pointsystem of claim 62, wherein the digital subscriber line modem isoperable to communicatively couple the wireless access point to anInternet via the digital subscriber communication link.
 68. An accesspoint system comprising: a wireless access point to send and receivewireless local area network signals within a coverage area; and a cablemodem communicatively coupled to the wireless local area network accesspoint; wherein the cable modem is operable to communicatively couple thewireless access point to a public Internet via a cable modemcommunication link; and wherein at least one of the wireless accesspoint and the cable modem is powered at least in part from powerreceived from the cable modem communication link.
 69. An access pointsystem comprising: a wireless access point to send and receive wirelesslocal area network signals within a coverage area; and a cable modemcommunicatively coupled to the wireless local area network access point;wherein the cable modem is operable to communicatively couple thewireless access point to an internetworking device via a cable modemcommunication link; and wherein at least one of the wireless accesspoint and the cable modem is powered at least in part from powerreceived from the cable modem communication link.
 70. The access pointsystem of claim 69, wherein the internetworking device is locatedoutside of the coverage area.
 71. The access point system of claim 69,wherein the wireless access point is communicatively coupled to thecable modem via a wired local area network communication link.
 72. Theaccess point system of claim 71, wherein the wired local area networkcommunication link comprises an IEEE 802.3 link.
 73. The access pointsystem of claim 69, wherein the internetworking device comprises atleast one of: a repeater, a hub, a bridge, a router, and a gateway. 74.The access point system of claim 69, wherein the cable modem is operableto communicatively couple the wireless access point to an Internet viathe cable modem communication link.
 75. A method comprising:communicating wireless local area network signals between a wirelessaccess point and equipment located within a coverage area;communicatively coupling the wireless access point to a public Internetusing a digital subscriber line communication link; and powering atleast a portion of the wireless access point using power received fromthe digital subscriber line communication link.
 76. A method comprising:communicating wireless local area network signals between a wirelessaccess point and equipment located within a coverage area;communicatively coupling the wireless access point to an internetworkingdevice using a digital subscriber line communication link; and poweringat least a portion of the wireless access point using power receivedfrom the digital subscriber line communication link.
 77. The method ofclaim 76, wherein communicatively coupling the wireless access point tothe internetworking device using the digital subscriber linecommunication link is done using a digital subscriber line modem. 78.The method of claim 77, wherein the digital subscriber line modem iscommunicatively coupled to the wireless access point via a local areanetwork communication link.
 79. The method of claim 77, wherein thewired local area network communication link comprises an IEEE 802.3link.
 80. The method of claim 76, wherein the internetworking device islocated outside of the coverage area.
 81. The method of claim 76,further comprising communicatively coupling the wireless access point toan Internet using the digital subscriber line communication link.
 82. Amethod comprising: communicating wireless local area network signalsbetween a wireless local area network access point and equipment locatedwithin a coverage area; communicatively coupling the wireless local areanetwork access point to a public Internet using a cable modemcommunication link; and powering at least a portion of the wirelesslocal area network access point using power received from the cablemodem communication link.
 83. A method comprising: communicatingwireless local area network signals between a wireless local areanetwork access point and equipment located within a coverage area;communicatively coupling the wireless local area network access point toan internetworking device using a cable modem communication link; andpowering at least a portion of the wireless local area network accesspoint using power received from the cable modem communication link. 84.The method of claim 83, wherein communicatively coupling the wirelesslocal area network access point to the internetworking device using thecable modem communication link is done using a cable modem.
 85. Themethod of claim 84, wherein the cable modem is communicatively coupledto the wireless access point via a wired local area networkcommunication link.
 86. The method of claim 85, wherein the wired localarea network communication link comprises an IEEE 802.3 link.
 87. Themethod of claim 83, wherein the internetworking device is locatedoutside of the coverage area.
 88. The method of claim 83, furthercomprising communicatively coupling the wireless access point to anInternet using the cable modem communication link.
 89. A systemcomprising: a plurality of wireless local area network access points,wherein each of the plurality of wireless access points sends andreceives respective wireless local area network signals within arespective coverage area; and an internetworking device; wherein each ofthe plurality of wireless local area network access points iscommunicatively coupled to the internetworking device using a respectiveat least one of a cable modem and a digital subscriber line modem; andwherein at least one of the plurality of wireless local area networkaccess points is powered at least in part using power received from therespective at least one of the cable modem and the digital subscriberline modem.
 90. The system of claim 89, wherein the internetworkingdevice is used to create a local area network comprising the pluralityof wireless local area network access points.
 91. The system of claim89, wherein the internetworking device communicatively couples theplurality of wireless local area network access points to an Internet.92. The system of claim 89, wherein the internetworking device islocated outside of the respective coverage areas of the plurality ofwireless local area network access points.
 93. A system comprising: awireless network that comprises a wireless access point thatcommunicates with a wireless device within a coverage area associatedwith the access point; a wired network that uses an Ethernet protocol toconnect the wireless access point to a converter; and a transportnetwork that connects the converter to a remote network; wherein thetransport network transports signals over at least one of a POTS cableinfrastructure, a CATV cable infrastructure, and a fiber optic cableinfrastructure; wherein the converter converts a signal from the wirednetwork to a signal adapted to communicate over the transport network;and wherein at least one of the wireless access point and the converteris powered at least in part from power received from the transportnetwork.
 94. The system of claim 93, wherein the transport network is abroadband transport network.
 95. The system of claim 93, wherein thewireless access point is located in a common housing with the converter.96. The system of claim 93, wherein the wired network uses an IEEE 802.3compliant protocol to connect the wireless access point to theconverter.
 97. The system of claim 93, wherein the wireless devicecomprises at least one of computing equipment, mobile equipment, and apersonal digital assistant.
 98. The system of claim 93, wherein thewireless network is an IEEE 802.11 network.
 99. The system of claim 93,wherein the wireless access point includes a bridge that converts awireless signal from the wireless network into a wired Ethernet signalthat conforms to an IEEE 802.3 protocol.
 100. The system of claim 93,wherein the converter comprises a cable modem.
 101. The system of claim93, wherein the converter converts a wired local area network signal toa digital subscriber line signaling format for transport over POTScabling.
 102. A system for coupling a wireless device to a network, thesystem comprising: a wireless access point adapted for wireless localarea network communication with a plurality of wireless devices within acoverage area associated with the wireless access point; and a converterlocated within the coverage area; wherein the wireless access point iscommunicatively coupled to the converter, the converter being adapted tocommunicate with the network; wherein the wireless access pointcommunicates with the converter using a wired Ethernet signal; whereinthe converter converts the wired Ethernet signal to a transport formatfor communication over distribution cabling out of the coverage area andto the network, the distribution cabling comprising at least one of POTScabling, cable television cabling, and optical fiber cabling; andwherein at least one of the wireless access point and the converter arepowered at least in part using power received from the distributioncabling.
 103. The system of claim 102, wherein the wireless access pointis located in a common housing with the converter.
 104. The system ofclaim 102, wherein the wired Ethernet signal is an IEEE 802.3 compliantsignal.
 105. The system of claim 102, wherein the plurality of wirelessdevices comprises at least one of computing equipment, mobile equipment,and a personal digital assistant.
 106. The system of claim 102, whereinthe wireless access point includes a bridge that converts at least oneportion of a wireless signal into the wired Ethernet signal.
 107. Thesystem of claim 102, wherein the wireless local area networkcommunication between the plurality of wireless devices and the wirelessaccess point uses wireless signals compliant with an IEEE 802.11protocol.
 108. The system of claim 102, wherein the wireless local areanetwork communication comprises a multi-user wireless local area networkcommunication.
 109. The system of claim 102, wherein the convertercomprises a cable modem.
 110. The system of claim 102, wherein thetransport format for broadband communication is digital subscriber linesignaling.
 111. An apparatus for communicatively coupling wirelessdevices to a network, the apparatus comprising: a wireless access pointthat receives a wireless local area network signal from at least onewireless device and that converts the wireless local area network signalto a wired local area network signal; and a converter that converts thewired local area network signal to a transport signal suitable fortransmission to the network over at least one of POTS cabling, cabletelevision cabling and optical fiber cabling; and wherein at least oneof the wireless access point and the converter are powered at least inpart from power received from the network.
 112. The apparatus of claim111, wherein the transport signal is suitable for broadband transmissionto the network
 113. The apparatus of claim 111, wherein the wirelessaccess point is located in a common housing with the converter.
 114. Acommunication system including the apparatus of claim 108, wherein saidsystem further includes a wireless device in communication with thewireless access point.
 115. The communication system of claim 114,wherein the wireless device comprises at least one of computingequipment, mobile equipment, and a personal digital assistant.
 116. Thecommunication system of claim 114, wherein the wired local area networksignal conforms to an IEEE 802.3 protocol.
 117. The communication systemof claim 114, wherein the wireless local area network signal conforms toan IEEE 802.11 protocol.
 118. The communication system of claim 114,wherein the wireless local area network signal comprises a multi-userwireless local area network signal.
 119. The communication system ofclaim 114, wherein the converter comprises a cable modem.
 120. Thecommunication system of claim 114, wherein the converter converts thewired local area network signal to a digital subscriber line signalingformat for transport over POTS cabling.